TROLL OF THE MONTH: Dnevni avaz
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region. In the city of Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a …
STRUGGLING FOR THE TRUTH IN THE BALKANS
The general lack of balanced discussion in the media in the Balkans deprives the public of accurate information and damages professional journalism. Civil society actors are using social networks to send different messages and fight disinformation, but their reach is limited and often includes people who are already aware of the issues. Yet, these voices are important in the struggle for truthful information and a just society.
Monthly monitoring highlight: Sexism and homophoia across the Balkans
Throughout the month of October, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month there has been a rise in sexism, misogyny and homophobia, alongside hate speech against political opponents. Sexism in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and Albania In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a private user on Facebook spread extremely …
TROLL OF THE MONTH – SELECTION CRITERIA
The goal of the Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 monitoring is to identify and document the most significant cases (‘incidents’) of hate speech and divisive discourses in the Western Balkans media. Incidents are defined by the speaker regardless of where they occurred, but monitoring refers to their media coverage. They can originate in the Parliament, party …
MEDIA MONITORING REPORTS: Hate speech in the Balkans mainly targets ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation
According to the media monitoring reports produced within the Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 project, three categories were identified as the main target of hate speech: ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality. These three categories which were the result of monitoring 465 single incidents across the region, make up more than fifty percent of cases (53,13%). Within …
THE NEED FOR LIES
When we take a look at other parameters — ideas about Covid-19 and MMR vaccination rates or the attitude towards the economy, human rights, violence against women and the plight of people in Ukraine as well as as the plight of Serbian people with different sexual orientations — the conclusion is clear: our lives may be difficult and bleak, yet the one piece of comfort we have is that we’re the smartest ones in the world.
DISINFIRMATION EVERYWHERE
FROM UKRAINE AND THE NORTH OF KOSOVO TO INFLATION AND VISA LIBERALIZATION It’s become clear throughout 2022 that malinformation and disinformation are not a declining phenomena. Information disorder is spreading and changing its shape by adopting new digital tools, applications and platforms. Disinformation and malinformation about Covid-19 prevailed in 2020 and 2021. This year, the …
MIGRANTS BLAMED FOR THE UK GOVERNMENT FAILURES
Reports earlier this week from a migrant processing centre in Kent, near the English Channel painted a heart-breaking picture Reports earlier this week from a migrant processing centre in Kent, near the English Channel painted a heart-breaking picture: the centre at Manston, meant to house up to 1600 people, accommodated as many as for 4000 people, …
THIS IS NOT JOURNALISM
TURNING VIOLENCE INTO A MEDIA SPECTACLE DOES NOT SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST. A video of a nurse abusing an elderly woman was shared on social media and became the news of the day on Wednesday, November 2. The video, which was first published on Facebook, was shared everywhere within minutes. Photos with the face of …
